Blair Atholl is known as a big lengthy course but for anyone playing off bronze tees (5823m) there is a stretch of seven holes from No 3 to No 9 which plays remarkably short, just 1799m. It’s where you can enjoy a run of pars and birdies before tackling the considerably longer back nine. There are 3 short 3s in this stretch, three short 4s, and a 456-metre 5. No 7 is the shortest 4 at Blair Atholl (379 from black and 293 from bronze). More use should be made of the bronze tee in championships, because this distance would entice longer hitters to try and drive the green. To do that you have to fly large bunkers about 40m short of the putting surface. But the main challenge on this uphill hole is the green, which has a steep incline in the front ready to repel any shot that doesn’t have legs. You thus want to be hitting as short an iron as possible for your approach. An extensive tree-planting programme is underway on the left side of the hole which will better define it.
